23 Fitness Tips From The Experts

Getting fit and healthy involves a lot of different things. Losing weight, building muscle, and increasing your general health takes a lot more than just lifting a few dumbbells. Getting into shape requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Even more important than the hard work is to have knowledge and the know how to achieve your goals. Here we have 23 of the best tips you could ever get to get that beach body you have always wanted and they all come straight from fitness experts.

More Muscle And Less Cardio

You may be a big fan of cardio exercises. Yes they are very healthy to increase the health of your cardiovascular system, but in terms of muscle gain it is not the best thing to engage in. Muscle gain requires you to have a lot of calories and protein in your body, substances which you need in order for your muscles to grow big and strong. Cardio exercises use up a lot of calories in your body, calories which could otherwise be used to build muscle. Therefore doing too much cardio will decrease your overall muscle gain and will also sap your energy for those times when you do want to lift weights. If you are looking to build muscle and still do a little bit of cardio your best bet is to do no more than some light jogging a few times per week.

The Time Of Lifting

Something important to remember when working out is that the time your muscles are under tension and stress will dictate the results that you get from your weight lifting exercises. The longer your muscles are under stress for every rep, the more results you will see in terms of muscle gain and muscle strength. It is recommended that you use a weight level which will have you getting tired and unable to continue a set after no more than 45 seconds. If you can handle the weight for over that time period you know that it is too light. Also if you can’t handle the weight for at least 25 seconds you know that the weight is much too heavy.

Noticing The Little Things

Something else that you need to keep in mind while lifting weights is that you need to pay attention to every last detail. This includes the amount of weight that you are lifting, the number of reps you do, and the number of sets you go through. You also need to keep in mind what your breathing is like, plus your nutrition too. If you notice any kind of problem you need to address it right away or else it could cause a severe problem in the future.

Remember The Muscle Building Basics

If you are out to build a lot of muscle and look like the next Hulk Hogan there are a few muscle basics that you should always follow. First of all you need to work out and lift weights at least 4 times per week if you have any hope of building muscle. Also remember that you do need to get enough rest so your muscles can recover, thus it is recommended that you get 1 day of rest per week at the very least. One of the biggest tricks to building muscle is that you need to increase your daily intake of protein and calories in general. Not getting enough protein and calories, in combination with regular weight lifting exercises, will actually cause your muscles to deteriorate faster than they build up.

Maintaining Proper Form

Another really important part of weight training is to always use proper weight lifting form. Using the proper weight lifting form will ensure that you are in fact working out the muscle or group of muscles which you are aiming to build. Also using the proper form will ensure that you go through the full range of motions requires to properly build your muscles. On the other hand if you don’t have the proper form when lifting weights you can severely damage your muscles, bones, and joints. Furthermore, not using proper weight lifting form will work out muscles that aren’t the ones you were aiming to build. Proper form is essential to staying injury free during an intense weight lifting routine.

Consistent Planning

A really important part of achieving your weight training goals is to make sure that you are consistent with your plan. Of course this means creating a work out plan with all of your goals listed on it, but creating the plan is the easy part. You need to actually stick with the plan. A good thing to do is to not overshoot yourself and your abilities, especially if you are just beginning to work out on a regular basis. Setting goals that are unachievable will leave you depressed and unmotivated to keep going. Always keep track of how many reps and sets you do plus the amount of weight that you lift each time. Tracking your progress is a great way to keep motivated and it will help you plan your next day at the gym. Keep in mind that you won’t see results over night, but keeping a progress chart will enable you to see positive results after a few weeks of starting your new routine.

THE ROM

No we aren’t talking about the Royal Ontario Museum here. What ROM stands for is the range of motion that you go through when lifting weights. If you want the best and biggest results from your weight lifting endeavors you are going to want to go through the biggest range of motion possible. The simple fact of the matter is that the more your muscles move in one direction and then in the other, the more work your muscles have to do, and thus the more results you will see. Doing more work will break down more muscle tissue during your workout and thus heal bigger and stronger when you rest.

Monitor Your Heart Rate

One really important thing to do when exercising, whether it is endurance training, cardio exercises, or weight lifting is to measure your heart rate. This is not really because we are concerned that you are going to have a heart attack if you push too hard, which is only a concern for people with pre-existing conditions, but actually because you need to make sure that you are working hard enough. You don’t want to just exercise for an hour. You want to exercise really hard for an hour. The best way to ensure that you are pushing yourself is to measure your heart rate using a basic heart rate monitor. If your heart rate isn’t slightly elevated during exercise when compared to your resting heart rate, you aren’t working out hard enough.